African China, My Lagos, ‘This is where I feel relaxed’

The fast-rising dancehall act has left the ghetto of Orile – Ajegunle for Festac which he calls an advanced ghetto…

Where do you live in Lagos and why?

I stay in Festac Town. Because Festac is more like an advanced ghetto to me. In everything that one does, he has to show a little bit of improvement…that there’s progress in what you’re doing and let people appreciate the kind of job that you’re doing. So that’s the reason I left the local ghetto to an advanced ghetto.

When did you start living permanently in Lagos?

I was born and bred here in Lagos, I never lived outside Lagos for months or years. I’ve always been in Lagos. What I do is I travel out of Lagos and I come back to Lagos.

What’s your earliest Lagos experience?

It’s all about the suffering. The oppression, normal police harassments, allegations and talking about music. You trying to build your lifestyle and you discover that nobody sends you, nobody cares about what you’re trying to do. Nobody wants to know but despite that, you still push forward to make sure you achieve your goal.

What do you like most about Lagos?

Lagos is a busy place. I like the busyness and secondly, there’s a big competition in the kind of job that I do. If you’re not in Lagos, it means you’re not good, you’re in Lagos that you can really prove yourself to the whole nation as in Nigeria as a whole.

What do you hate most about Lagos?

One thing I hate about Lagos is the dirt, armed robbery.

When you’re outside Lagos, what do you miss about Lagos?

I miss the fun, my fans, the way they keep calling, the way they appreciate me when they see me. This is where I feel relaxed. It’s home. When I travel outside, I’m always in a hotel, I’m always indoors. But when I’m in Lagos, I do some roaming about, I drive around, I enjoy driving though, go to the poolside, swim, sit under the trees, do some rehearsals, write some songs because I’m always busy. It’s either I’m there for a mission and that mission has to be accomplished.

How do you move around Lagos?

I drive. I drive in a tinted car. It’s an Isuzu Rodeo jeep.

Where do you shop in Lagos?

Sometimes I do my shopping in Wisemen Apparel, and sometimes in a boutique at the estate along Airport Road. Of recent, I did most of my shopping in Europe.

What’s your favourite Lagos hangout?

That’s Club T and Pronto.

Who is your favourite Lagos celebrity?

She’s female but I don’t want to mention her name.

What new projects are you working on?

Right now, I’m working on an NGO project for motherless babies and orphans. It’s under processing right now. I’m also working on a tour of Europe.

About Us

ENCOMIUM, a media, tech and events company, publishes ENCOMIUM Weekly, Nigeria’s most authentic soft-sell magazine (since May 27, 1997), adding along the years, ENCOMIUM Special, the no-gossip, no-scandal, authentic celebrity journal (2002) and ‘E’ Lifestyle, the dictionary of style, health and well-being (2005). And the three coffee table books (in a sleeve), all of 900 pages, dubbed A Decade of ENCOMIUM, 1997-2007.